The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unequivocal impact on young people. An International Labour Organisation (ILO) study found that “the impact of the pandemic on young people [is] systematic, deep and disproportionate.” Twenty-three per cent of young people aged 18-24 who were working pre-pandemic are now unemployed, and those who are working have reported reductions in hours and income. “Students’ perceptions of their future career prospects are bleak, with 40 per cent facing the future with uncertainty and 14 per cent with fear,” the report adds. Globally, young people are feeling more uncertain about what the future holds.
In this COVID-19 and Youth: Learning and Employment interview series, the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) looks to explore trends and patterns within the global youth education and labour environment, and highlight youth voices on their hopes and fears for the post-COVID future.
Odinaka is a recent graduate of Medical Laboratory Sciences from the University of Jos, in Nigeria, and is currently an intern at the Jos University Teaching Hospital. He grew up in northern Nigeria, where “education wasn’t a priority for most people.” The quality of schools in his area meant he had to move around to receive the education he wanted.
It was a lecture from a part-time biology teacher in high school that introduced him to medical laboratory science. The teacher spoke with such passion, it convinced Odinaka to pursue a higher education degree in the field. Through his major and extracurricular activities, he has furthered his understandings of medical science and global health.
Like most students, this past year with the COVID-19 pandemic was unlike any learning experience he had gone through before. The University of Jos had no infrastructure to offer online classes. Instead of waiting for his classes to restart, Odinaka actively applied to and completed several online courses which were offered online by various universities, from leadership and management in health, to global public health and policy and advocacy in global health. The policy and advocacy class was run by the University of Washington; the class being online presented Odinaka with the opportunity to “attend” another university beyond the shores of his country without facing barriers such as visas and travel fees.
The online courses ran for three months, and gave Odinaka a chance to build on his knowledge and skills while classes at his own university were put on hold. Each course and learning opportunity he chose were closely linked to his career plans. Odinaka not only saw online education as a means to develop his skillset, but also as a platform which can provide people with necessary knowledge and experience with relatively low cost. “The fact that we have a lot of programs online now is going to create new opportunities for young people, especially those in low- and middle-income countries.” He now hopes to pursue a master’s degree in Public Health at the University of Washington, part of which he was able to experience during this year of online learning.
A recent ILO report shows that out of young people who were in education pre-pandemic, 73 per cent were affected by schools closing or switching to online classes. 44 per cent of young people globally have sought out new training courses, including higher education degrees since the pandemic began; this figure is even higher among people already holding a first university degree (53 per cent).
Azita Berar, who previously worked at ILO as Director of the Employment Policy Department and advisor on global employment, highlighted the trends seen globally. “We see that young people are going back to, or doing more tertiary education.” She goes on to say that this is because “Immediately, they do not see opportunities in the job market. So rather than wasting time they continue with education, or do something else to improve their skills. Even for jobs that do not need higher qualifications, there is now so much demand and competition.” According to the Wall Street Journal, Harvard University received 42 per cent more applications for this fall’s entering class, compared to the previous year. Some young people are even choosing to defer a year or two before applying to college, rather than facing the fierce competition now.
“At first, I struggled to keep myself motivated through all the online classes. But once I’ve gotten adapted to the new format, my mindset quickly shifted to ‘alright, let’s do this.’” Saad, a masters candidate based in Canada, is another example of a student taking advantage of the current learning environment. Saad is finishing his master's degree at McGill University in exercise physiology and is beginning Medical School in August. During this past year, he has been studying for his master’s degree online due to the pandemic. Although it took some time for him to adjust to the new style of learning, Saad realized that the flexibility of remote learning brings new opportunities as well.
He has organized online study groups with friends to replace the social aspect and collaborative learning that was missing from online classes. The flexibility of remote learning also allowed him to not only study for his degree, but also to work part time at a hospital as a medical scribe; both things that would have been difficult had he not had the opportunity to learn remotely.
There is no singular answer to why people seek education. However, the increased competition in the job market and the impact of the pandemic on learning opportunities are leading young people, like Odinaka and Saad, to learn in many different ways in order to grasp the best opportunities in life.